Robert Bowles - Slashdot User

Obama Orders Federal Agencies To Digitize All Records 186

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday November 29, 2011 @11:11PM from the welcome-to-the-90s dept.

Lucas123 writes "President Obama this week issued a directive to all federal agencies to upgrade records management processes from paper-based systems that have been around since President Truman's administration to electronic records systems with Web 2.0 capabilities. Agencies have four months to come up with plans to improve their records keeping. Part of the directive is to have the National Archives and Records Administration store all long-term records and oversee electronic records management efforts in other agencies. Unfortunately, NARA doesn't have a stellar record itself (PDF) in rolling out electronic records projects. Earlier this year, due to cost overruns and project mismanagement, NARA announced it was ending a 10-year effort to create an electronic records archive."

Comment Re:Opt out (Score 4, Interesting) 198

by Robert Bowles on Wednesday November 23, 2011 @05:23PM (#38152578) Attached to: Malls Track Shoppers' Cell Phones On Black Friday

Suppose you root through people's trash and search for financial information. As long as you promise not to use it to single anyone out, its not malevolent. Anyone who doesn't like it can "opt-out" by keeping the trash in their house.

HP Pondering Sale of WebOS 99

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday November 08, 2011 @05:38PM from the historically-predictable dept.

Rambo Tribble writes "Reuters reports HP is seeking to sell WebOS, at the bidding of its financial advisers. Sounds like open sourcing it is off the table. From the article: 'HP is trying to figure out how to recoup its investment in Palm, viewed by many analysts and investors as an expensive foray into the smartphone market that has not paid off. Several technology companies have expressed an interest in buying the division, which is seen as attractive for its patents, the sources said. Amazon.com Inc, Research In Motion, IBM, Oracle Corp and Intel Corp are considered to be among the companies likely to be interested in the asset, industry sources said.'"

VMware, a Falling Giant? 417

Posted by Soulskill on Friday November 04, 2011 @01:15PM from the netcraft-yet-silent dept.

New submitter Lashat writes "According to Ars Technica, 'A new survey seems to show that VMware's iron grip on the enterprise virtualization market is loosening, with 38 percent of businesses planning to switch vendors within the next year due to licensing models and the robustness of competing hypervisors.' What do IT-savvy Slashdotters have to say about moving away from one of the more stable and feature rich VM architectures available?"

Comment Not terribly convincing. (Score 1) 1

by Robert Bowles on Thursday October 20, 2011 @05:09PM (#37783304) Attached to: The best but still not human

Rosette: Good afternoon. My name is Rosette. What is your name?
You: Bob. How did you get the name Rosette?
Rosette: Nice to meet you, bob.
You: ?
Rosette: What didn't you understand?
You: How did you?
Rosette: I concentrate very hard, rehearse what I'm going to do, visualize it in my mind. And then I just do it.
You: How did you get the name "Rosette"?
Rosette: I responded to a sign I saw.
You: Seriously, is Rosette a family name?
Rosette: My last name is Flynn-Bell.

DHS Creating Database of Secret Watchlists 158

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday August 09, 2011 @07:34PM from the veracity-is-optional dept.

schwit1 writes "Homeland Security plans to operate a massive new database of names, photos, birthdays and biometrics called Watchlist Service, duplicated from the FBI's Terrorist Screening Database, which has proven not to be accurate many times in the past. DHS wants to exempt the Watchlist Service from Privacy Act provisions, meaning you will never know if you are wrongfully listed. Privacy groups worried about inaccurate info and mission creep have filed a protest, arguing the Privacy Act says DHS must notify subject of government surveillance. DHS has admitted that it 'does not control the accuracy of the information in system of records' and that 'individuals do not have an opportunity to decline to provide information.' Additionally, the DHS Watchlist Service attempts to circumvent privacy protections established by the Privacy Act. Who's watching the watchers?"

25% of Car Accidents Linked to Gadget Use 317

Posted by samzenpus on Monday July 11, 2011 @09:42AM from the turn-your-movie-off dept.

BogenDorpher writes "In a recent study by the Governors Highway Safety Association (PDF), driving distractions such as cell phones and other electronic devices cause as much as 25% of all US car accidents. It is common knowledge that driving while distracted is not a safe thing to do, but now we have some scientific data that goes in-depth on the topic. From the article: '"Despite all that has been written about driver distraction, there is still a lot that we do not know. Much of the research is incomplete or contradictory. Clearly, more studies need to be done addressing both the scope of the problem and how to effectively address it," said GHSA Executive Director Barbara Harsha.'"

Android Phones More Prone To Hardware Problems 220

Posted by Soulskill on Friday June 24, 2011 @10:17AM from the that-button-doesn't-work-on-mine-either dept.

adeelarshad82 writes "A nearly year-long study conducted by WDS on 600,000 support calls has found that Android phones are more susceptible to hardware faults than other types of devices. '14 percent of all technical support calls for Android devices could be traced to a hardware fault, versus 3.7 percent for RIM BlackBerry, 8 percent for iPhones and 9 percent for Windows Phone 7 devices.' WDS attributed the gap in hardware faults to the disparity in OEMs that manufacture Android devices."

Ask Slashdot: Best Adventure Game To Start With? 480

Posted by Soulskill on Monday June 06, 2011 @07:43PM from the getting-them-hooked-early dept.

canolecaptain writes "One of my daughters (10 years old) has become interested in adventure games, and started playing Fate. It's been awhile since I've had time to play this type of game (since the Diablo 2 days), and I'd like to know what Slashdotters thought would be the best set of adventure games to start her on (PC preferred). Nothing too scary yet, so unfortunately, Diablo is out for the time being. I'd prefer one with multi-player so that we could quest together on ocassion."

Senate Passes 4-Year Re-Up of Patriot Act Provisions 422

Posted by timothy on Thursday May 26, 2011 @07:01PM from the but-sir-patriot-must-be-in-all-caps dept.

Bloomberg News reports that, as expected, today "[t]he US Senate approved a four-year extension of provisions in the USA Patriot Act allowing law enforcement to track suspected terrorists with roving wiretaps. ... The measure goes to the House for final passage before being sent to President Barack Obama for his signature. The surveillance powers would be extended until June 1, 2015." The story mentions that the Patriot Act powers this approval includes would extend "to so-called 'lone wolf' suspects who aren't affiliated with any terrorist group."

US Ed Dept Demanding Principals Censor More 493

Posted by samzenpus on Thursday March 17, 2011 @05:17AM from the sticks-and-stones dept.

Toe, The writes "Education Department officials are threatening school principals with lawsuits if they fail to monitor and curb students' lunchtime chat and evening Facebook time for expressing ideas and words that are deemed to be harassment of some students. Under the new interpretation of civil rights laws, principals and their schools are legally liable if they fail to curb 'harassment' of students, even if it takes place outside the school, on Facebook or in private conversation. When children are concerned, where is the line between protection and censorship?"

The Most Violent Video Games of All Time 287

Posted by timothy on Sunday February 13, 2011 @05:07PM from the your-actual-priorities dept.

adeelarshad82 writes "Switzerland and Australia already feel that violent video games are an issue, and in June the US Supreme Court will also take matters in its own hands. Revisiting some of the most violent video games made over the last couple of decades shows exactly why this is such a huge concern." Warning: this slideshow contains imaginary violence.

Netgear CEO Says Jobs's Ego Will Bite Apple 500

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday January 31, 2011 @09:46AM from the even-egos-go-on-vacation dept.

AcidAUS writes "The global chairman and CEO of home networking giant Netgear has launched into a scathing attack on Apple and its founder Steve Jobs, criticising Jobs's 'ego' and Apple's closed up products. At a lunch in Sydney today, Patrick Lo said Apple's success was centred on closed and proprietary products that would soon be overtaken by open platforms like Google's Android."

Submission + - Adding an olfactory dimension to games (gizmag.com)

Submitted by cylonlover on Tuesday January 18, 2011 @12:32AM

cylonlover writes: California-based company Scent Sciences is looking to bring an olfactory dimension to computer games with its ScentScape personal digital scent delivery system. The ScentScape Gaming Suite system consists of a unit that plugs into a PC or gaming console via USB and generates smells using scent cartridges. As well as aiming for the development of ScentScape-capable games from games developers, the system also allows gamers to add scents to existing games and share these with other ScentScape system users.

Submission + - Obama Appointee Sperling was Key H-1B Broker

Submitted by theodp on Thursday January 13, 2011 @03:50AM

theodp writes: In the history of the H-1B program, reports ComputerWorld, few people have played a role as important as that of Gene Sperling, who last week was appointed by President Obama to head the National Economic Council. Sperling, who is replacing reluctant movie star Larry Summers, led the council from 1996 to 2000 under President Clinton. During that time, Sperling brokered a deal with Congress to raise the visa cap to 195,000 — the highest it has ever been — between 2001 and 2003. At the time, the White House cited a 3.9% jobless rate as justification for the boost, and Sperling assured Congress that the proposal contained 'significant provisions to protect and prepare the U.S. workforce.' Google had Sperling over to the house in 2006 to discuss his belief that globalization can be a 'rising tide that lifts all boats' despite its acknowledged devastating effect on tech jobs and wages. Sperling has a connection to Silicon Valley via ex-Google VP and now Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, who once worked with Bono and Sperling on African debt relief when Sandberg was Larry Summers' Chief of Staff at Treasury. Hey, it is a small business-and-government world!

Slashdot Top Deals